"correct me if im wrong but i thought HT just means running at actual clock speed cuz the previous p4 cpus without HT runs at 1.4ghz while the AMDS runs faster, eg. a AMD 3200 runs at 2.2ghz actual speed. now im confused....."
HT processors will run at "actual clock speed" -- but when you said that the previous p4 cpu's without HT ran at 1.4ghz, i don't know where you got that from.
the previous p4's which were released w/o HT still ran at clock speed. e.g. a 2.0, 2.2, 2.4 and 2.53ghz p4 without HT technology still ran at 2, 2.2, 2.4 and 2.53 respectively.
AMDs *used to* be the better performer in the intel/amd 'war'. using your example, the XP3200+ had only confused customers and 'tricked' the naive into thinking it was 3.2GHz (or "3200MHz"). this is just a performance rating, which is now obsolete since the P4's (especially the p4C's with 800mhz fsb's and HT) are beating them in terms of benchmarks and tests, but it's all about personal preference and how much you're willing to spend on your computer, some prefer AMD, some prefer Intel, that's fine with me -- as long as it works
here is an older article on AMD's PR (performance rating)
but it gives all the info you'd really need,
http://www.upgradingandrepairingpcs.com/articles/2001/upgrade10_01_03.asp
Originally posted by Beaky
no HT is just a "Theriotical" second processor that in "theory" should deliver double the proccessor speed of a non HT cpu. HT atm is a marketing gimic, but as time goes on, HT will become more and more useful as more appz and O/S will use it...
AS for 3200 en shit... its AMD way of saying "Our cpu that runs at a clock speed of 2.4Ghz delivers the same perfomance as a Intel 3.2 P4....
yes, HT doesn't give you "two physical processors" for the price of one. but in "practice" -- it gives you two. giving double the processor speed? that's somewhat sketchy, e.g. paying for a 3.40GHz prescott doesn't give you a "theoretical" 6.8GHz processor (one or two
).
it just means that non-HT processors wont be able to perform twice as many threads in parallel. so compared with non-HT processors, a HT processor will execute "twice as many" threads in parallel IF and only IF the code is optimised for HT (note, it doesnt mean you can load your old pc games in half the time it would normally take).
HT will only become "more useful as time goes on" when the 64-bit computing era comes into play, as you've mentioned. even apple's OSX 10.3 (codename panther) set to be released in september won't be fully 64-bit. microsoft's windows xp is 32-bit, though there IS a 64-bit version out there in it's alpha stages.
for more reading:
http://www.intel.com/technology/hyperthread/index.htm